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Government · head to head

CitizenLab vs Keygen

CitizenLab logo

CitizenLab

Government

Digital Democracy Platform

From
$500/month
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
Keygen logo

Keygen

Cybersecurity

Open, source-available software licensing API

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Keygen has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: CitizenLab citizenLab has rebranded to Go Vocal and the product now sells under govocal.com; Keygen specific Active Licensed User (ALU) pricing not listed; requires interactive pricing calculator
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which CitizenLab and Keygen actually diverge.

Attributes where CitizenLab and Keygen differ
AttributeCitizenLabKeygen
Starting price$500/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionusage-based
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidWeb
CategoryGovernmentCybersecurity
Founded2015Unknown

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in CitizenLab

  • Participatory Budgeting
  • Idea Management
  • Online Consultations
  • Surveys & Polls
  • AI-powered Analysis
  • Single Sign-On
  • Open Data Portals
  • GIS Systems

Only in Keygen

Nothing recorded that CitizenLab does not also cover.

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

CitizenLab

  • Running community consultation and participatory budgeting for a citynot Keygen
  • Collecting resident input through surveys, ideation, mapping and votingnot Keygen
  • Centralising engagement data across multiple municipal departmentsnot Keygen

Keygen

  • Software licensing and distributionnot CitizenLab
  • Product release managementnot CitizenLab
  • API-based license verificationnot CitizenLab

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

CitizenLab

  • CitizenLab has rebranded to Go Vocal and the product now sells under govocal.com
  • No prices are published on the plans page; every tier requires scheduling a demo
  • The Essential plan allows only 1 active project and 1 admin seat, with no project manager seats
  • Standard is limited to 4 admin seats and 5 project manager seats, and Premium to 8 admin seats and 25 project manager seats
  • Standard restricts Sensemaking to Light, capped at 30 inputs; auto-insights require Premium
  • The integrated Konveio document annotation and Echo blended engagement methods are excluded from Standard and require Premium
  • Auto-translation on Premium is limited to 3 languages
  • Custom fonts and other premium styling options are Premium only
  • Priority support is Premium only
  • Plans are split by population band, with separate ladders for cities under and over 100K population

Keygen

  • Specific Active Licensed User (ALU) pricing not listed; requires interactive pricing calculator
  • Whitelabel API add-on costs $995/year per domain

Pricing, plan by plan

CitizenLab

$500/month
  • Government$500/month
    • Participatory Budgeting
    • Idea Collection
    • Surveys

Keygen

Free
  • DevFree
    • Up to 100 Active Licensed Users
    • 10 product releases
    • Core licensing API only
  • Std$null/month
    • Scaling with licensing volume
    • Distribution API (OCI/Docker, npm, Rubygems, PyPI, Tauri)
    • Flat monthly/yearly fees
  • Enterprise$null/month
    • Audit logs
    • SAML/SSO
    • IP filtering

Which should you pick?

Choose CitizenLab if

  • You need participatory budgeting.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want idea management.
CitizenLab review

Choose Keygen if

  • You want to start without paying.
Keygen review

Questions people ask

Is CitizenLab or Keygen better?
Neither clearly leads. CitizenLab starts at $500/month and Keygen at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, CitizenLab or Keygen?
Keygen has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $500/month for CitizenLab and Free for Keygen.
Does CitizenLab or Keygen run on more platforms?
CitizenLab runs on Web, Ios, Android. Keygen runs on Web.
Can I use Keygen for free?
Yes. Keygen has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. CitizenLab starts at $500/month.
What is CitizenLab best used for?
CitizenLab is most often used for running community consultation and participatory budgeting for a city, collecting resident input through surveys, ideation, mapping and voting, centralising engagement data across multiple municipal departments. Of those, running community consultation and participatory budgeting for a city and collecting resident input through surveys, ideation, mapping and voting are not what Keygen is typically brought in for.
What can CitizenLab do that Keygen cannot?
CitizenLab covers Participatory Budgeting, Idea Management, Online Consultations, Surveys & Polls.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

CitizenLab: How many projects can Essential tier teams manage?

The Essential tier is designed for teams starting small and is limited to 1 active project with 1 admin seat and no project manager seats.

Source
Keygen: Does Keygen have a free tier?

Yes, the Dev tier is free and supports up to 100 Active Licensed Users with 10 product releases and core licensing API access.

Source
CitizenLab: How many projects can Standard and Premium tiers manage?

Both Standard and Premium tiers support unlimited projects. Standard includes 4 admin seats and 5 project manager seats, while Premium includes 8 admin seats and 25 project manager seats.

Source
Keygen: How is Keygen pricing calculated?

Keygen uses scalable, flat monthly or yearly fees based on your licensing volume (Active Licensed Users). No revenue share or transaction fees are charged.

Source
CitizenLab: Does Enterprise tier have any user seat limits?

No, the Enterprise tier is designed for organizations aiming to embed engagement deeply within their infrastructure and includes unlimited admin seats and project managers.

Source
Keygen: Does Keygen charge for additional features like SSO?

SAML/SSO is included in Enterprise tiers. Whitelabel API support costs $995/year per domain. Premium Support SLA is $995/month for Enterprise.

Source
CitizenLab: What are the specific pricing amounts for each tier?

Specific pricing amounts are not disclosed on the plans page. The company directs interested organizations to talk to their team for personalized pricing offers.

Source
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